1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmitting/receiving apparatus for performing transmission and reception by using a plurality of spreading codes and more particularly, to a transmitting/receiving apparatus which can increase and decrease the number of spreading codes in accordance with a grade of link quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional example of a transmitting/receiving apparatus for performing transmission and reception by using a plurality of spreading codes is shown in block diagram form in FIG. 1. When the transmitting/receiving apparatus is installed in a base station which can afford to use 20 spreading codes for reverse and forward links, respectively, at a time, it operates as will be described below. Since this base station can use 20 spreading codes at a time, it can accommodate 20 mobile stations using a single spreading code.
Firstly, the operation of a receiver of the transmitting/receiving apparatus will be described. By transferring a switch 202 to a down-converter 204, a receiving signal 203 received by an antenna 201 is inputted to the down-converter 204. In the down-converter 204, a carrier frequency of the receiving signal 203 is down-converted into an IF frequency, so that.the receiving signal 203 is converted into an IF signal 205. In a quadrature detector 206, the IF signal 205 from the down-converter 204 is quadrature-detected, so that the IF signal 205 is converted into an in-phase signal (I-ch) 207 and a quadrature signal (Q-ch) 208. The in-phase signal 207 and quadrature signal 208 are inputted to analog/digital converters (A/D converters) 213 and 214 via low-pass filters (LPF""s) 209 and 210 so as to be converted into a digital in-phase signal 215 and a digital quadrature signal 216, respectively. The LPF""s 209 and 210 are used to suppress frequency components in the in-phase and quadrature signals 207 and 208 which are xc2xd or more of a sampling frequency in the A/D converters 213 nd 214 and to shape waveforms of the in-phase and quadrature signals 207 and 208. The digital in-phase signal 215 and digital quadrature signal 216 delivered out of the A/D converters 213 and 214 are inputted to 20 demodulating units 2171 to 21720. First to twentieth codes 227, which are identical to the 20 spreading codes used during transmission, are generated by a reception code generator 226 and inputted one by one to the demodulating units 2171 to 21720. The demodulating unit 2171 includes despreaders 2181 and 2191 for multiplying the first code 227 which is identical to the first one of the 20 spreading codes used during transmission by the digital in-phase signal 215 and the digital quadrature signal 216, respectively, to reproduce two transmitting symbols 2201 and 2211, a decoder 2221 for decoding the two reproduced transmitting symbols to a bit signal 2231, and a frame decomposer 2241 for deriving information concerning the kind and the number of the spreading codes from a frame format contained in the bit signal 2231 and delivering receiving data 225 of the first code. The remaining demodulating units 2172 to 21720 are constructed similarly to the demodulating unit 2171.
Next, the operation of a transmitter of the transmitting/receiving apparatus will be described. In a frame assembler 229, transmitting data 228 is arranged in a frame format in accordance with the number of spreading codes used and a data amount of the transmitting data 228. In a transmission code generator 236, spreading codes 237 to be used are determined on the basis of information concerning the spreading codes and spreading code information owned by the base station which are sent from each of the demodulating units 2171 to 21720. Transmitting information pieces 230 delivered out of the frame assembler 229 are inputted to 20 modulating units 2311 to 23120. The modulating unit 2311 has a modulator 2321 for mapping the transmitting information to an in-phase signal (I-ch) 2331 and a quadrature signal (Q-ch) 2341, and spreaders 2351 and 2352 for spread-processing the in-phase signal 2331 and the quadrature signal 2341 by using one of the spreading codes 237. The remaining modulating units 2312 to 23120 are constructed similarly to the modulating unit 2311. Output signals 238 and output signals 239 from the modulating units 2311 to 23120 are added by adders 240 and 241, respectively. Output signals 242 and 243 of the adders 240 and 241 are converted from digital signals to analog signals by means of digital/analog converters (D/A converters) 244 and 245, respectively. Output signals 246 and 247 of the D/A converters 244 and 245 are inputted to a quadrature modulator 252 via LPF""s 248 and 249, respectively, so that a base-band signal is converted into an IF signal 253. The LPF""s 248 and 249 are adapted to eliminate higher harmonic components in the output signals 246 and 247 of the D/A converters 244 and 245 and to shape waveforms of the output signals 246 and 247 of the D/A converters 244 and 245. The IF signal is up-converted from the IF frequency to a carrier frequency by means of an up-converter 254 so as to be converted into a transmitting signal 255. The transmitting signal 255 is inputted to the antenna 201 via the switch 202 and transmitted to the mobile station.
In the aforementioned transmitting/receiving apparatus, however, transmitting data pieces are transmitted while being superimposed on each other by using a plurality of spreading codes and as compared to a transmitting/receiving apparatus adapted to transmit transmitting data by using a single spreading code, the service area is disadvantageously narrowed for the following reasons:
(1) Much transmitting power is required for transmission over the same distance; and
(2) The transmitting distance is reduced when the transmitting power is made to be equal for the both types of apparatuses.
An object of the present invention is to provide a transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes which can expand the service area.
In a transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention, quality of a transmitting signal from a mobile station (hereinafter referred to as a reverse link signal) is examined in a base station and when the quality of the reverse link signal is bad, the number of spreading codes to be used is decreased but on the other hand, when the quality of the reverse link signal is good, the number of spreading codes to be used is increased. An upper limit of the number of spreading codes is set to a value prescribed by the system.
In a transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention, quality of a transmitting signal from a base station (hereinafter referred to as a forward link signal) is examined in a mobile station and when the quality of the forward link signal is bad, the number of spreading codes to be used is decreased but on the other hand, when the quality of the forward link signal is good, the number of spreading codes to be used is increased. An upper limit of the number of spreading codes is set to a value prescribed by the system.
More specifically, a first transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention is represented by transmitting/receiving apparatuses installed in a base station and a mobile station, respectively, to perform mutual transmission and reception by using a plurality of spreading codes,
the transmitting/receiving apparatus installed in the base station comprises means for designating to the mobile station the kind and the number of spreading codes to be used in a reverse link from the mobile station to the base station through a forward link from the base station to the mobile station at the time that communication with the mobile station is started,
the transmitting/receiving apparatus installed in the mobile station comprises means for transmitting a signal to the base station by using the spreading codes of the designated kind and number, and
the transmitting/receiving apparatus installed in the base station further comprises means for detecting receiving quality values of the signal transmitted from the mobile station with respect to individual spreading codes used in the mobile station, means for deciding whether the detected receiving quality values exceed a prescribed quality value, and means for finally setting the kind and the number of spreading codes to be used in the reverse link on the basis of spreading codes for which the detected receiving quality values are determined to exceed the prescribed quality.
A second transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention is represented by transmitting/receiving apparatuses installed in a base station and a mobile station, respectively, to perform mutual transmission and reception by using a plurality of spreading codes,
the transmitting/receiving apparatus installed in the base station comprises means for designating to the mobile station the kind and the number of spreading codes to be used in a forward link from the base station to the mobile station through the forward link at the time that communication with the mobile station is started, and means for transmitting a signal to the mobile station by using the spreading codes of the designated kind and number, and
the transmitting/receiving apparatus installed in the mobile station comprises means for detecting receiving quality values of the signal transmitted from the base station with respect to individual spreading codes, means for deciding whether the detected receiving quality values exceed a prescribed quality value, and means for finally setting the kind and the number of spreading codes to be used in the forward link on the basis of spreading codes for which the detected receiving quality values are determined to exceed the prescribed quality value.
A third transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention is represented by a transmitting/receiving apparatus for performing transmission and reception by using a plurality spreading codes, and the transmitting/receiving apparatus comprises:
means for detecting quality values of a receiving signal with respect to individual spreading codes;
means for deciding whether or not the detected quality values exceed a prescribed quality value; and
means for making a request for re-transmission of spreading codes for which the detected quality values are determined to be below the prescribed quality value.
A fourth transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention is represented by a transmitting/receiving apparatus for performing transmission and reception of voice and data by using a plurality of spreading codes, and the transmitting/receiving apparatus comprises:
means for detecting whether or not the voice is in a soundless state; and
means for using spreading codes used in transmission of the voice for use in transmission of the data when the voice is determined to be in the soundless state.
A fifth transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention is represented by a transmitting/receiving apparatus for performing transmission and reception of voice required of real time nature and data not required of real time nature by using a plurality of spreading codes, and the transmitting/receiving apparatus comprises:
means for designating more spreading codes for transmission of the data than for transmission of the voice to a forward link from a base station to a mobile station; and
means for transmitting a control signal for a request for re-transmission of the data by using a reverse link for voice from the mobile station to the base station.
A sixth transmitting/receiving apparatus using a plurality of spreading codes according to the present invention is represented by a transmitting/receiving apparatus for performing transmission and reception of voice required of real time nature and data not required of real time nature by using a plurality of spreading codes, and the transmitting/receiving apparatus comprises:
means for designating more spreading codes for transmission of the data than for transmission of the voice to a reverse link from a mobile station to a base station; and
means for transmitting a control signal for a request for re-transmission of the data by using a forward link for voice from the base station to the mobile station.